Luxury hillside home gets 'green' light

Thursday 25 October 2018

A Victorian hillside home overlooking St. Brelade's Bay will be demolished to make way for an "unashamedly modern" luxury property featuring a gym, sauna, and curvaceous grass-covered roof - despite a Senator's warning that the character of the area is being "eroded" by new developments.

Architects said the building, which was recently approved by the Planning Committee, aims to merge with the surrounding landscape by using a range of natural and 'green' materials, including Jersey granite.

Known as Cotil du Parcq, the property currently includes a two-storey, five-bedroom home with a one-bedroom staff unit.

It is believed the house comprises an original single storey fisherman’s cottage with an outbuilding located at the rear which is set back into the rock face and was converted to create the one-bedroom unit. The house was then modified in the 19^th century to create a Victorian house.

The house was described as outdated and in poor repair. MS Planning, the architects behind the scheme, told Planning that the current property “lacks connection to its surroundings and fails to address its natural setting.” They also said it failed to “provide any benefits to the Green Zone” due to its appearance and lack of architectural merit, adding that the site as a whole was fragmented.

MS Planning said that their “unashamedly modern” proposal, which came to be "through careful design and landscape enhancements," created a connection with the natural environment of the house and a "symbiotic relationship with the landscape."

They were inspired by The White House, a project led by WT Architecture on the Isle of Coll in Scotland where a modern house was built inside an existing stone farmhouse wreck, using the rugged stone walls to protect the timber and glass building tucked within them.

Pictured: The White House, located on the Isle of Coll, inspired MS Planning.

In their design statement, they said that they had taken into account the impact of the house on the landscape, the environment, nearby properties as well as the people who would be living in the house.

Pictured: Three of the bedrooms will enjoy a view over St. Brelades's Bay.

The new home will include five bedrooms, three of which will enjoy a view over St. Brelade's Bay, as well as a gym and a sauna. The one-bedroom staff unit will also be rebuilt and directly attached to the main house. While the new development will provide the same specifications as the previous building, its surface will be 30% bigger.

The redevelopment plans also include extensive landscaping works and the refurbishment of a large wildlife pond which should provide a favourable habitat for reptiles and amphibians.

Not all will be happy with the outcome, however. In a letter to Planning, Senator Sarah Ferguson lamented the loss of a property in what she described as a "typical Jersey style" and warned that "the character of the Bay... is being eroded by the outlandish development proposals being submitted."

Pictured: Senator Sarah Ferguson, who feared that the "character" of St. Brelade's Bay was being threatened by new development.

Meanwhile, the St. Brelade's Bay Association, chaired by former Senatorial candidate and Public Accounts Committee layperson Moz Scott, expressed concern that the type of glass used would make the property look "opaque" and overbearing.

Despite their concerns, the project was unanimously approved by the Planning Committee.

MSPlanning said they were "delighted" with the result.